January 2008 : THAILAND GOT ITS 25th PRIME MINISTER Samak Sundaravej became the country’s 25th Prime Minister Thai Air Force to receive six new Swedish fighter planes costing over 1.9 billion baht Strategies to promote welfare of Thai children Coup leaders rewarded their colleagues with special pay rise Workers in six autonomous universities to receive additional pay of Bt. 242 million To create a network of public advisers to government Inspectors Royal Thai Police is being re-structured TPBS receives 340 million baht start-up fund PTT gas pipeline rental agreed The Government cancelled Rap Ro and Klong Klai Dams Projects Public to participate in consultation to draft biogenetics law relating to GM crops Extension of State of Emergency for another 3 months in Southern Provinces and to four districts of Songkla No evidence that Thaksin ordered extra-judicial killings during “War on Drugs” Prices for Batteries, Fertilisers and Milk to increase Samak Sundaravej became the country’s 25th Prime Minister By royal command, Samak Sundaravej became the country’s 25th Prime Minister on 29th January. Earlier on January 28, Samak, being the leader of the People Power Party, was voted 310 to 163 (with 3 abstentions) by the House of Representatives. The previous week, on 22nd January, the House voted Yongyuth Tiyapairat as The President of the House of Representatives, with Somsak Kiatsuranont and Col. Apiwat Wiriyachai as 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents respectively. Samak is a seasoned politician, having been Minister of Transport in the Prem Tinsulanond Administration, Mayor of Bangkok, and in the last senatorial election which has cancelled by the coup on 19th September 2007; he scored highly with 240,312 votes. Thai Air Force to receive six new Swedish fighter planes costing over 1.9 billion baht On 8th January, the Cabinet agreed to purchase six JAS-39 Gripen jet fighters to replace the Royal Thai Air Force’s fleet of F-5E fighters. The G-G purchase between the Thai and Swedish Governments costs 1.9 billion baht and includes accessories, spare parts, training, renovating buildings and administrating the project. The Cabinet approved designated budget for this purpose over 5 years, 2008-2013. Strategies to promote the welfare of Thai children The Cabinet’s meeting on January 8 approved five strategies to promote the welfare of young people in Thailand. They are: To promote creative activities for young people inside and outside schools To promote the institution of the family To promote educational and learning media for children To promote the most child-friendly and safe environment for children by developing at least one model province in each region. To promote quality development for the pre-school age children. Officers worked for CNS got special pay rise On 15th January, following a proposal by the Secretariat, the Cabinet granted a special pay rise to officers working for the Council for National Security (CNS) for the six-month period of October 2007 –March 2008. However only 15% of total 442 officials will get this a special two-level promotion due to it is outside of government regulations because the Council of National Security is an entity that is uniquely outside of the normal governmental organisation structure. Workers in six autonomous universities to receive additional pay of 242 million baht The Cabinet meeting on 15th January approved a fund of Bt 242 million for lecturers and staff of 6 (formerly State now autonomous) universities, namely: Mahamakut Ratchavitayalai, Chulalongkorn Universiry, Suranaree Technology University, Mae Fah Luang University, Pra Chom Klow Thonburi Technology University and Walailuk University. The Cabinet also approved a long-term plan (2007-2021) to develop State universities and a strategy to develop the Chalerm Prakiat School and 300 other schools under royal initiation. A Bt. 1,300 million baht budget will be allocated for four years starting with Bt. 55 million in fiscal 2008 with the assurance that the balance will be forthcoming until all schools reach their objectives. To create a network of public advisers to government Inspectors As proposed by the Office of the Prime Minister Secretariat, on 15th January, the Cabinet resolved in principle, to appoint a committee to develop public participation in policy-making. The purpose is to generate greater public awareness and involvement in the process of government. The committee will appoint individuals from the general public to form a network of regional and local advisers to Inspectors of the Office of the Prime Minister and to other ministries. They may be formally recognised by means of identity cards. Royal Thai Police is being re-structured On 22nd January, the Cabinet approved a re-structuring of the Royal Thai Police into two parts: the Office of the Commissioner-General containing 12 departments, and the Police Commander Bureaus containing 21 offices. The re-structuring also included the establishment of 9 divisions, some of which had already been authorised in the 2005 royal decree. However, the re-structuring did not approve the requested expansion of the Office of the Commissioner-General, nor did it approve a request for an additional annual increase of 8,000 positions in the Department. This is the case, in spite of the fact that in 2007, the Royal Thai Police retired 1,495 officers. Nevertheless, the Cabinet approved funds worth 338 million baht to build offices and housing for provincial police officers in regions 8 and 9. TPBS receives 340 million baht start up fund A Cabinet resolution on 22nd January approved a 340 million baht start-up fund for the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS). The country’s first public television station will be governed initially by a temporary five member Board appointed by the Cabinet. The Board members are: Thepchai Yong, Nualnoi Trirat, Kwansuang Atibodhi, Apichart Thongyoo and Narong Jaiharn. The Board will set out rules, regulations and working practices. It will also be in charge of program plans, recruitment, and the appointment of the Station Director. The temporary Board must complete this job within 180 days when a permanent Board is to be appointed. Since the public television station will not broadcast commercials, starting on 15th January, the government will subsidize it by a 1.5% increase in liquor and tobacco excise duties. It is expected that this will raise 1,700 million baht for the public television fund. PTT gas pipeline rental agreed The Finance Ministry and the energy conglomerate, PTT, have agreed the rate of rent for the use of gas pipelines. The parties agreed that the rent should be 5% of PTT’s annual income, with increases of 5% for each additional 200 million baht increase in income to a maximum of 35%. Based on present income, the rent would range from 180 million to 550 million baht. Following the Supreme Administrative Court ruling that gas pipelines belonged to the State, PTT, therefore, had to pay rent for their use. The Government cancelled Rap Ro and Klong Klai Dams Projects The Cabinet on 15th January resolved to cancel the proposed construction of Rap Ro and Klong Klai Dams in Chumporn and Nakorn Sri Thammarat Provinces in order to reduce conflict with the Council of the Poor. These projects were proposed by the Agriculture and Co-operation Ministry but were strongly opposed by the Council of the Poor. An ad hoc committee was appointed to investigate into the opposition and concluded the two projects should be aborted. Public to participate in consultation to draft biogenetics law relating to GM crops The Cabinet on 22nd January approved in principle a draft Bill on Biogenetics Safety. The Bill is to allow for public participation in the consultation process on grounds that technology in this area is progressing rapidly and Thailand, as a member of the Cartagena Protocol, must abide by its rules and regulations. In the consultation process to draft biogenetics safety law, the Cabinet also resolved to canvass comments and opinions from relevant stakeholder departments e.g. Department of Science and Technology and the Civil Service Commission so as to ensure safety and appropriate development in this area. Extension of State of Emergency for another 3 months in Southern Provinces and to four districts of Songkla Starting on 20th January, the Cabinet resolved to extend the State of Emergency in the three Southern Provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala by another three months. In addition, it declared that the 4 districts of Songkla Province (Janna, Thepa, Natawee and Saba) are a dangerous zone. State officials working there will qualify for extra hardship pay similar to those working in the three Provinces. This declaration follows findings from many sources particularly by the Internal Security Operations Command (4th area) that these 4 districts in Songkla are not peaceful. Many citizens and officials have been injured and killed; therefore, it is appropriate to declare it a dangerous zone, so officials working there will be entitled to the same level of pay as those in the State of Emergency zone. No evidence connecting Thaksin to extra-judicial killings during “War on Drugs” The independent panel set up to examine the deaths that occurred during Thaksin Shinawatara’s War on Drugs concluded that there is no evidence to link the former Prime Minister or any in his government to a policy of extra-judicial killings of drug suspects. However, the panel recommended that further investigations should be made as whether or not the policy of War on Drugs intended the extra-judicial killings which is an element of a crime under international law. The Panel gave statistics as to the number of deaths that occurred during the period of the War on Drugs. Prices for Batteries, Fertilisers and Milk to increase It is anticipating that the Department of Internal Trade will agree to price increase of batteries, chemical fertilisers and milk products after prices of bottle palm oil for cooking has been raised in the first quarter of 2007. Producers are complaining that raw material prices are shooting up non-stop, so while trying not to inconvenience consumers; they need to adjust their selling prices. The Department will use prices for gasohol and bio-diesel for inflation calculation deeming that the resulting figure would reflect as much of the true cost as possible.